WEST AFRICA: Tens of thousands homeless from seasonal rains [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
DAKAR, 5 October (IRIN) - Almost 70,000 people from four countries have been displaced by floods from seasonal rains and need food, blankets, mosquito nets and other assistance, according to a report from three United Nations agencies. Niger is the worst-affected with 46,472 people displaced, followed by Burkina Faso with 11,170, Mauritania with 9,000 and Guinea with 1,200, said the October report by the UN humanitarian coordination office (OCHA), the UN children's agency (UNICEF) and the UN World Food programme. The flooding has lead to outbreaks of cholera. Among at least 681 cases 27 people have died - most of them in Niger. The UN agencies said Niger poses the greatest need. They said 2,788 tonnes of cereal were needed. Just over half of the necessary blankets and mosquito nets had been provided. WFP has distributed 406 tonnes of food to more than 18,000 people in the regions of Agadez in central Niger, Zinder in the south and Tahoua and Dosso in the southwest. UNICEF has focused on water needs, sanitation and education. In Guinea, flooding destroyed about 150 homes in the densely populated eastern province of Kindia, about 135 km north of the capital, Conakry. Authorities said it was the worst flooding in Kindia for 50 years. "The risk of epidemics such as malaria, cholera, diarrhoea and respiratory infections is high due to the stagnant water. OCHA and its partners are working with the government to respond to the most urgent needs," the UN agencies said. Guinea's Health Ministry says 150 people, out of 1,815 cases, have died of cholera in the country this year. mc/ak/cs [ENDS] This is non-reply e-mail. Please do not hesitate to contact us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] IRIN-WA Tel:+221 867.27.30 Fax: +221 867.25.85 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Principal donors: IRIN is generously supported by Australia, Canada, Denmark, ECHO, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. For more information, go to: http://www.IRINnews.org/donors [This item comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information service, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. All IRIN material may be reposted or reprinted free-of-charge; refer to the copyright page (Http://www.irinnews.org/copyright ) for conditions of use. IRIN is a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.] To make changes to or cancel your subscription visit: http://www.irinnews.org/subscriptions/subslogin.asp Subscriber: m-net@mauritanie-net.com Keyword: WEST AFRICA U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) - _______________________________________________ M-net mailing list M-net@mauritanie-net.com http://mauritanie-net.com/mailman/listinfo/m-net_mauritanie-net.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mauritanie-Net" group. To post to this group, send email to Mauritanie-Net@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups-beta.google.com/group/Mauritanie-Net -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---